The freerange kindergarten

Architecture should enable life, movement and the interaction between people.

When building, in order to keep cost down, we might be tempted to build an agglomeration of square boxes which may or may not fulfill this vision. Cost is important, but considering that the lifespan of a building often exceeds 100 years, it isn’t as important as the function.

A wonderful example of form fulfilling function is the Fuji kindergarten in Tokyo Japan. The building is designed with the needs of kids in mind. The whole structure is oval and the roof is a large playground where kids can run laps or play in trees that stick through the it. It also doubles as a viewing platform for the children during events in the court yard. The children at this kindergarten have much higher athletic abilities than other children simply because of architecture. And since we know that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind, I’m sure they will also do better with more cerebral tasks.

This is in stark contrast to the Riverview Juniors school in Gravesend, Kent, England where children have been banned from running in the school grounds. Three guesses what that building looks like? It certainly isn’t round with a rooftop playground.

For a better insight into the brilliant Fuji kindergarten, watch this engaging TEDxKyoto talk given by architect, Takaharu Tezuka. It really is a joy to behold.

TED TALK: The best kindergarten you have ever seen

Ingi Finnsson is passionate about data, economics and cities. He loves complex data but he loves complex data made simple more. He spends his days making real estate valuation models.